The Monster She Became
by V. Sourweather
Summary: Lavender Brown wakes up after the battle, and she's changed forever. [Written for QLFC - Round 11]


_Summary:__ Lavender Brown wakes up after the battle, and she's changed forever._

_Rating:__ T_

_Warnings:__ Mention of canonical character death, violence. Also, AU because someone who is not a creature in canon is now._

_Disclaimer:__ I do not own anything, everything belongs to J.K. Rowling. I do not make any money out of this story._

_.:._

_Written for:_

_**[QLFC - Round 11]**_

_**Team:**__ Tutshill Tornados_

_**Position:**__ Keeper_

_**Prompt:**__ A character discovers they are / is discovered to be part creature (restriction: not Fleur, Gabrielle, or Remus)._

_**[HSWW]**__ Assignment #3: Travel and Tourism — Lesser Known Tourism in England__ / Task #5 — Write about Lavender Brown_

_Word count (without the A/N): 1,385 words_

* * *

_**The Monster She Became: **_**Lavender Brown**

* * *

When Lavender opens her eyes, it hurts. She doesn't know what's the cause of that pain, but she thinks that maybe it's the blinding light. She's not used to that much light anymore, she guesses. She doesn't know how much time she's spent asleep, but it must have been a long, long time.

She squints and sees blurred forms. Human forms. They are gesturing and arguing from what she can make out despite her blurry vision.

And suddenly she can hear them. And she recognizes their voices, and she wants to cry of relief. Her parents… They're not… They're not dead. And they're arguing with someone else, someone she doesn't know.

It's about her. It's all about her. They're telling the unknown person to just do better, do more, that they can't watch their little girl die. Tears fill Lavender's eyes as she listens to them. They think she's dying, and when she tries to speak to tell them that she's not, nothing comes out of her mouth. No words, no gasp, no sigh. Nothing.

She panics. This is not normal. She should be able to at least make a sound, shouldn't she?

But then she hears her parents gasp, and she knows they've seen her. They rush to her side, and she feels her mother gently take her hand in hers. Lavender's almost forgotten how small and delicate her mother always was.

"Lavender, honey," her mother murmurs. "I'm so happy you're back."

Lavender opens her mouth again, but nothing comes out of it this time either. She stares at her mother with watery eyes until finally, she can see her more clearly. Her eyes are red from crying, she's as pale as death, and her lips are trembling and chapped.

"Try not to speak, Lavender," the unknown person says, and when Lavender turns her head to look at her, everything becomes blurry again. "I saw you try, and you shouldn't. You're still in shock, and that is why you can't speak. Nothing else. But trying more will just worry you."

Lavender looks back at her mother who explains. "This is your nurse. You're at… You're at St Mungo's, sweetie. After the battle, you…" Lavender's mother trails off.

Lavender nods. She remembers _that_. She remembers the pain, the shock when she hit the ground, the claws and teeth tearing at her skin, the explosion that saved her life. She remembers that much.

And when she looks at the nurse again, there's a question in her eyes. One she hopes the nurse understands.

"No, I don't think the attack will have any consequences on you, dear," the nurse answers, a reassuring smile on her lips. "Perhaps… Perhaps you will have a few symptoms, but not a full transformation. I don't think so, at least. We'll know more about that now that you are awake."

Lavender nods gratefully. She doesn't think she could bear it if her humanity was taken away from her too. And yet, she can't help but think… What if? What if the nurse is wrong? What if she truly is a werewolf now? Her throat clenches, and she whimpers quietly.

"Mr. and Mrs. Brown," the nurse announces, and her voice sounds like it's so far away when really, she is standing a few feet away. "Your daughter needs rest, and she needs space. You will be able to come back tomorrow, but for now, you have to go." Her tone is decisive, and Lavender's parents slowly walk away from her, following the nurse outside the room.

That's when she realizes she is alone in a room which is too secured for her taste, and she bites her lip because she knows there is still a risk. She has always hated waiting, and now is no different. It's even worse than before, because this time, it's her life, the life she's always known, that's at stake. So she bites her lips until she draws blood, and she waits alone in a bright room for something she knows won't happen for a long time.

* * *

Lavender is able to stand up now, more often than before. She can walk around her room to the mirror, and each morning, she stares at her scarred reflection and cries silently because she knows nothing will ever be the same now.

It's been two weeks since she woke up, and she's learnt since then that she stayed in a coma for two weeks after the battle. Worry gnaws at her, because today, she feels different than the previous days. More tired, more aggressive and just less like herself. She thinks she knows what it means, but she decides to wait and not to tell anyone.

No one comes here at night anyway, and the door is carefully locked during the night. Her room kind of feels like a prison at night, but she does everything in her power to accept it. People are probably safer that way. And they don't hear her screams when she has nightmares. Because nightmares plague her, and every night she wakes, her eyes snapping open and gasping for breath.

When night comes, she sits on her bed and wraps her arms around her knees. And she prays that she's been wrong all day.

But when the pain starts, when she feels her limbs distort and when she screams (or howls; she doesn't know herself), she knows she's been right, and that thought haunts her until she can't think anymore.

* * *

When Lavender wakes up, she's curled on her side, hugging her legs close to her chest. There is dried blood on her arm, and she scratches her skin and reopens the wound there. It's like someone… bit her.

And then she remembers, and she sits against the wall and cries until finally, the door opens, and her head snaps up. She has just enough time to cover her chest with her hands and to curl into a ball so that she's at least decent before she sees _her_ entering the room.

When Emma (her nurse who had _sworn_ to her that she _wasn't_ a werewolf) sees her sitting against the wall, dried blood on her whole naked body, she gasps and one of her hands covers her mouth. The nurse looks around the room, and Lavender does the same. It is in such a terrible state, Lavender notices. There are claw marks against the walls, and her bedside lamp is broken on the floor and…

She's done it all. The wolf inside of her has done it all.

"You told me I wasn't going to turn," she whispers, her eyes focusing on Emma again.

"I'm sorry. I am so deeply sorry. I—I was sure that there were no bite marks, I—I don't understand how _this_ is possible!" To emphasize her words, she opens her arms to gesture at the room around them.

Lavender scowls. Emma might not know how this is possible, but it is real and it is her fault that she's had no time to prepare! "Get out," she seethes and points to the door.

"I need to heal your new—"

"Send someone else," Lavender growls. And it really _is_ a growl, so Emma quickly backs away from her and gets out of the room, locking it behind her.

And Lavender is left alone again, and she wonders if anything will ever be the same. If her friends, if her parents will accept who she has become. If she'll ever find someone to love her and cherish her, all parts of her. She hates herself for thinking that it won't ever happen.

And then she remembers. Remus (who is dead now, but she tries not to think about it for now). Remus who had been so loved by his wife and his son. Remus who had been accepted by his friends. By her. Of course, she'd been surprised when she'd learned he was a werewolf. How could someone so… so nice be a terrifying creature? And then she'd realized… The werewolf didn't define him. And she decides her wolf isn't going to define her either. If her friends don't accept her, fine. She'll make new ones. And her parents… Of course they'll accept her! How could she have doubted it? She smiles a little; perhaps happy endings _are_ possible, even for a monster.


End file.
